Dryrainge Presents The Platform

Rick Young

Rick Young

Dryrainge president Bruce Rempel describes it as, “making the best out of a bad situation.”

Set to be in Florida for next week’s PGA Merchandise Show, the president of the Saskatoon-based range cover brand casually mentioned in a pre-Christmas phone conversation about buying Pro Bowl tickets for himself and nine staff members. With the NFL showcase being played in Orlando for the third straight year, Rempel figured the game would be a great way for his team to relax and have some fun before things ramped up at the always exhausting annual equipment fest.

Cue the bad situation.

Told the Pro Bowl game was the weekend after the show, not before, Rempel knew something was amiss. Quickly realizing he had confused the show dates, he excused himself and went into full-on damage control. Calling back a few days later, where we picked up the conversation on a brand new addition to his range cover product line, Rempel mentioned the only thing he couldn’t undo from the date confusion were the 10 Pro Bowl tickets.

What did he do with them?

“I called the Boys and Girls Club of Orlando and donated them,” he explained. “Dumb move on my part but I’m happy 10 kids are going to experience the Pro Bowl. I’m also happy you told me about that date. That could have been a real disaster.”

What Rempel is referring to is the array of activations he and Dryrainge will have going on during this year’s Show and Demo Day next week. Along with five Teacher’s Edition units to support Toptracer, the Canadian company will have its own spot at the Golf Range Association of America building on site at Orange County National GC, as well as its own independent booth on the floor of the Orange County Convention Center.

Brand awareness aside, next week’s ‘major’ for golf business is also going to be the launch pad for that previously mentioned new product that will be officially unveiled to the industry next week.

It’s like nothing the company has ever done before.

It’s called the Platform, a solid construction, modular, portable range cover solution. It can be scaled and customized to fit any range facility and meets Dryrainge’s mandate to provide comfort and functionality while helping range’s maximize revenue.

The design and its assembly requires no concrete or local permitting; can be fitted to handle any of today’s swing technology devices; is securable at night or during closed hours to protect monitors, televisions or any other electronics, and it has a provision for solar power to resolve any possible power supply issues.

The Platform joins the Members’ Edition, Teacher’s Edition and the Entertainment Lounge, unveiled a year ago at Demo Day, to comprise the current line of Dryrainge product offerings.

“Coming up with the Platform had a lot to do with the entertainment golf sector and how that’s becoming, not so much an alternative to the game, but a fun added initiative for it,” said Rempel. “It really has exploded from the Toptracer vision. In some of those first meetings I had with Topgolf, they were looking for something very strong, very durable especially for the northern areas of North America so it could handle snow and whatever the elements could throw at it.”

One of the most important aspects of this new product from a practical standpoint, however, is the emphasis on security. With some of those technology platforms retailing for up to $50,000, locking them down was a major consideration.

“Almost every one of golf’s entertainment systems today, whether it’s Toptracer or TrackMan or Foresight, all require TVs or monitor screens, meaning they either have to be taken in at night or secured,” Rempel said. “What we tried to do was check every box with the Platform. Security was right at top of the list.”

Manufactured start to finish right in Saskatoon by local company Dymark Industries, the finished Platform can be dressed up or down — depending on budget — with as much or as little as a teaching professional, range owner or golf facility wants. Like other Dryrainge products, the Platform can also be made advertising ready.

“It’s definitely our most customizable unit. It’s set up for two tee positions (dimensions 20-feet by 24-feet by 14-feet, four inches), it’s portable and we made it to be modular, meaning you can add units to it. We’ll launch officially at the show but it’s been on our website for a few weeks. We’re already getting a bunch of requests for quotes.”

Having looked on the website myself I sent a note to Rempel wondering if he has plans to market the Platform beyond the golf industry.

We’re starting with golf but I think it has a lot of potential crossover applications because it doesn’t need to be anchored or concreted in place, yet it can still withstand 100 m.p.h. winds,” he said in a note.

Although the Platform has taken up a great deal of his time lately, Rempel says his other trio of products have also seen an uptick of industry interest.

“We just sold a few of our entertainment lounge units to PGA National in Florida. They want them for Toptracer because they’re looking to turn Honda into a bit more like a Waste Management atmosphere,” Rempel added.

With the global economy more stable today and facilities worldwide looking at their range as an operations asset and opportunity to bolster the bottom line, Rempel is bullish on Dryrainge’s current position in the marketplace. He says he likes what’s ahead for the company going into next week’s PGA Merchandise Show and for the rest of 2019.

“We’ve stuck with it because we know how good our products are,” he said. “It was never for lack of work or effort but sometimes it’s not your time. But you keep pushing, you keep trying. That’s what Canadians do, right? It’s also what you have to do to push ahead in this industry.”